Advice About Critter-Proof Grain Storage?

[fergusnc]

So...what types and brands of storage containers have you found to be the most critter-proof while still being a size and configuration you like? Anything you've tried and ended up really disliking?

I saw a rubbermaid can on the home depot site that is specifically for seed and feed...made with BPA-free plastic so is considered "food safe". (Had never thought about that as far as use of garbage cans.). But it is 20 gallons. Is that too small? (1 horse coming home, adding a buddy as soon as I can find the right match, no more than three horses total.

[Tarlo Farm]

NOTHING other than metal! Mice/rats/squirrels/rodents will chew through anything not metal. I used assorted metal cans and bins for years, now I use an old chest freezer. Love it because EVERYTHING is in one place i.e. extra dog and cat food, bird seed, assorted grains. Rodent proof.

[Josette]

Ditto - I've always used large metal garbage cans. When I had a raccoon flipping the lids I added a heavy large paver brick and he gave up. No more issues with rodents or raccoon.

[DJR]

I use a variety of things, all of which have served me well without critter invasion (to date).

In my drive shed at home, I use plastic garbage cans with a well-fitting lid. I also use these stackable bins from Canadian Tire which I really like (they each hold an entire bag of feed):

Cnd Tire Stacking Bin.png (103.6 KiB) Viewed 23722 times

In the barn that housing my chickens & sheep, I bought one of these which works really, really well:

Bridle Path feed bin.jpg (8.08 KiB) Viewed 23722 times

It holds 4-5 bags of feed, and is great for critters where you feed a larger supply at a time (e.g., I open the hopper to fill a pail which I use to top up the chicken feeders or to throw grain for my 12 sheep). I know of an Equestrian facility that uses these and just scoops from the top instead of opening the hopper at the bottom, and they love them. Each feeder is pricey, though ($299 CAD), but last a lifetime.

I also use an old deep freezer to store extra feed bags. It's very critter-proof, but it can be a bear to lift heavier feed bags back out.

I should also add that I have five barn cats in my drive shed to help keep the mice, rats & chipmunks at bay.

[Melody]

http://www.lexingtoncontainercompany.co ... Drums.html
The ones that say $28 is the close to what I have. Ours are like a thick hard plastic or poly with a locking lid. Nothing has gotten into them critter wise. No way could they chew through it. We have our fair share of raccoons from time to time too and they will get into whatever they can but have no luck with these barrels. Only draw back on a 55 gallon drum is if you are short like me. Once the barrels start to get low I have to tilt them and practically climb into the thing. We have 9 horses, if I had just a few would probably have something smaller.

[M&M]

And don't forget bungee cords. They can be your friend, and in a small horse operation, they aren't aggravating. I had three horses, and used metal cans and bungees.

[Racetrackreject]

I use the big metal trash cans as well. That's the only thing I've found that works other than a metal lined bin or a freezer (which is what my trainer uses).

[Woost2]

Defunct chest freezer.

[amygdala]

metal garbage cans-- aided by 4 cats

[Rockabilly]

metal garbage cans-- aided by 4 cats

Same here except 6 cats.

[texsuze]

Metal garbage cans. I can still heft the 50# bag of feed up and over the top edge to dump into the can (did this just this morning, BTW). I have a large can that can hold two bags of horse feed. At one time I considered getting one of those big rectangular metal contractor tool boxes, but decided it was overkill. Around here, critters will eventually chew their way through any type of plastic.

[Koolkat]

Metal cans here, holds 100 lbs of LMF supplement.

Melody, thumbs up on recycled drums!!!

[Figgy]

44 gallon drums, the ones that stored food products like pineapple juice, critter proof and safe.

old fridges are lethal if there are small children about - documented cases of children playing hide and seek and then asphyxiating - so no.

[Literiding]

I vote for 200 Liter (bit over 52 gallons) pickle barrels. I bought four 25 years ago and two of them have been in continuous use since then. They each hold five 50 lb sacks of feed and you can reach to the bottom of the barrel. They are moisture, humidity and rodent proof. They are food rated and seem to be the modern day amphora in the shipping world.

200Ltr-Pickle-Barrel sm.jpg (118.89 KiB) Viewed 23648 times

[Tarlo Farm]

Anyone who thinks rodents can't/won't chew through anything that isn't metal hasn't met a red squirrel. Yet.

[kande50]

I also use an old deep freezer to store extra feed bags. It's very critter-proof, but it can be a bear to lift heavier feed bags back out.

I currently have quite a few old horses so am feeding a lot of grain, so have a 55 gallon drum, and old freezer on its side, and a metal box that holds 300lbs. So I can get almost 1000lbs of grain at a time and still have enough room left for bags of dog, cat, and chicken feed.

I do dump most of the grain into the containers because I can get more in that way, and it's easier to scoop out, but I haven't gone to more convenient containers because I feel like it's good to have to struggle a little every day. When I had to go to work it was all about convenience, but now it' doesn't matter if it takes longer to get things done.

[PNG_Pony]

metal drums, a bit larger than 55 gallon, are the only things that keep our cat-sized rats at bay (and even then, they will work on chewing where the metal is thinning/rusting)

[Alex]

I wonder if there was a way to adapt the pickle barrels to be like the bottom emptying white Bridle Path Feed Bins that DJR posted about? I'm currently using a BUNCH of steel barrels but I would like to have some fairly sizable bottom-emptying storage bins like this Bridle Path type. That's easiest on everybody!#$!

[fergusnc]

Thanks all. I picked up a metal bin today. The feed will be in an insulated tack/feed room that we are building ourselves trying to make that as critter proof as we can as well.
Now...with the metal bins...once washed, do I pour the grain straight in, line with plastic, or keep the grain in its original bag? I won't go through grain too fast..maybe a bag a month?

[Rockabilly]

I keep the bag and set the bag down into the can because that way I'm pretty sure of not finding molded pieces in the very bottom. When you're finished with a bag all you need to do is lift the bag out. You can keep your can cleaner this way. Trying to keep a can clean and get every tiny piece out is hard work.

[amygdala]

what rockabilly said!

[Tarlo Farm]

I've done both. When I mixed my own, I was using food-grade metal 55 gallon barrels. I just made sure to really empty them, and use a dry rag to wipe the grain dust out before mixing a new batch. Never had any problems in 30+ years of doing that.

[fergusnc]

Rockabilly and Amygdala...do you mean a) open the bag and set it in the can without any dumping or b) lay a previous empty bag on bottom of can and pour the next bag's feed on top? If you keep it in the bag, does that mean only 1 bag per bag and more frequent trips to the feed store versus buying 2+ bags of the same feed type at a time?

[Rockabilly]

I buy 6 bags of feed at one time. When my husband built my tack room he made 5 large built in storage bins. I store blankets in some of them and 2 of them are for feed. My husband puts the bags in the storage bins and place one bag in the metal can. I open that bag and use it then he puts another bag in the metal bin for me. I used to do all this myself, but I have terrible arthritis in my back so I don't lift too much anymore. To make a long story short it would be "A".

[amygdala]

i buy 3 or 4 bags at a time. i put the metal can just at the end of the tail gate, and slide a bag from the truck bed into the can, then wrestle the can into place. one bag to a can. i make sure the bag goes into the can openable end up!

[fergusnc]

Thx guys. Amygdala, where do you keep your bags that don't fit in can?

[amygdala]

i have 6 cans. i don't buy more bags than i have cans.

[SnowHorse]

I must be only person who doesn't use containers at all.

I just stack my feed (I usually buy 4 bags at a time, plus a bag of chicken feed) in the tack room, and the door is always closed. My barn cat sleeps in there every night (he's outside for the day) - and I've never had a mouse or a rat get into a bag.

So, I guess it depends on your setup....

[hoopoe]

I like the Bridle Path feed bin as you can adequately clean under and around it.

Metal garbage cans have been the small storage of choice. I have seen large volume storage ( for sacks ) made of corrugated tin roofing on a wooden frame. Also the dead chest freezers

[JeanReitz]

Thanks for sharing this advice.

[kande50]

I must be only person who doesn't use containers at all.

I've been able to leave all the feed out this winter because we haven't had any rodents, which may be because we have a weasel, but one year we trapped over 300 of them in the grain room and house, so everything had to be in rodent proof containers or it was chewed on or nested in.

[silk]

I use a large defunct chest freezer (700L). I can easily store 10 bags of feed in there with room for supps and other things that need to be kept away from rodents. I put the feed bags into the freezer, stacked like vertical sardines ( ). Note: No risk of children, and they'd have to be able to get the feed room door open first before they even got to the freezer.

At one time I had plastic garbage bins, but they weren't as easy. I hate opening and shutting multiple containers/bins to get feeds done. I always leave the scoop in the wrong bin, or outside the bin, and my supps always had to sit on top of feed/bags so needed to be moved before I could get down to scooping... #firstworldproblems... I too have experienced rodents chewing through tough plastic.

My then-bf wanted to transform my tack/feed room into a dart/man-cave, and so with the help of a friend put 6 small castor wheels on the freezer so he could wheel it outside when they wanted the space. He's now off the scene but is it useful to be able to move the freezer *if* I want to clean it out, outside, or store random things in my tack room which require a slightly different room configuration.

[Baroque]

Dead chest freezer here too.

I keep my strapping in a slightly smaller one as well, I hate rats, those suckers have done a lot of damage to my horse gear over the years , so we have 4 cats on duty!

[Chisamba]

Like Tarlo,( used to) I empty my bags into the metal cans. More fits in that way and it's much easier to scoop out. I can also check the quality of the feed that way. Our feed store is generally good but occasionally one can find clumps of old food in the bottom of a bag and I want to find that before I feed the whole bag.

It is easy to empty and dry the cans as you get to the bottom. They do not weigh much empty and can easily be tipped. I can fit three fifty pounds bags of feed in each can. I have smaller cans for feed I use less often.

I too find metal more critter proof, easier to take care of, and durable.

[Tarlo Farm]

Chismaba, I USED to do that. Now that the critters and I are all under one roof and space is a premium, I use an old chest freezer - which I LOVE! All the grain, food, bird seed, and treats in bulk are in one container, in their individual bags. It has been especially helpful while I've been laid up to simply ask anyone who is helping to get whatever they need out of the chest freezer. No confusion about what is what.

[lorilu]

I use galvanized garbage cans. I dump the feed into it. I pick it up and pour the last bit out when at the bottom.
Trainer has a defunct chest freezer. Her hubby divided it into three bins with wooden dividers.

I have known rats to eat through plastic.